OK so my swamp rats got here today. They were not sharp. I have never sharpened a knife. I did a little research on the web for knife sharpening. But,I wanted to get advice from the pros. What is the easiest but still good method of sharpening.

It takes time and practice but this is how I was taught with a whetstone. I usually use a bit of oil on the stone I use. I hold the blade flat and angle it until the edge and stone meet and I can see no air in bewteen. Then I draw the knife like I'm trying to shave a tiny sliver of the stone off. I switch sides each time and then check the edge after about five strokes on each side. Then I switch to a smoother stone if I need to and do it again. The oil helps because its something I can see being "shaved" off the stone.

Once you get a feel for it you are good to go!

where do you buy stones from and what stones should I start with?

When I was doing research today I saw that alot of people use ceramic sticks. Do these really work ?

I like the spyderco stuff.

you'll need something medium or course if you want to reprofile. Once you have it how you want it the fine should do you right for a long time.

RC there are a bunch of ways to sharpen knives. Ceramic sticks do work. thats my second favorite way. Lots of people use the lanksy system but I don't like them. I am probably going to try and find a nice smooth finish stone at a gun/knife show this weekend.

I am pretty sure I picked up my whetstone at a sporting goods store or a department store years ago.

I am not looking to do anything serious, like reprofile. I just want my knife razor sharp.

some 60 grit sandpaper will convex an SR-77 edge pretty quick too. SR-101 takes a little more work

as much as you're in to knives, you'll probably want to eventually get a belt sander. Harbor Freight sells them for about 40 bucks now. You'll spend another 35 on belts and compound from a place like Lee Valley. Then..buy some cheap machetes to practice on. I bought like 10 Tramontina's for 45 bucks and have been honing (pun?) my skills. I'm still having a problem keeping the points from rounding off on some, but I can see the improvement with practice.

You can also send them to Horn Dog if he's still taking customers, which I may still do for things like my bushwacker. After you see the kind of edge he can put on with a belt sander, you'll flip. It's very much worth the money he charges imo until you get the hang of it.

sounds like a plan. I will PM horndog. Thanks for the harbour freight tip. I have a $50 storecredit so i will pick one up tommorrow.

Check out this place
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Norton-3-Stone-IM200-System-P31C18.aspx
The Norton 3 stone kit is great,but spendy.Diamond sharpeners are good too & will last longer.Ceramic sticks are good for finishing,or touch up.For Infi you pretty much need diamonds & ceramic.Jerry reccommends a ceramic rod for touching up of infi.
I sharpened my Bird dog w/400 grit sand paper & a ceramic rod.I mostly use diamonds & ceramic.
Now lets hear from the belt sander owners.

Is the Spyderco Sharpmaker good enough for these big knives? I've only ever sharpened my small folders...I wish I got some cheap machettes first...